thoughts from a little urban homestead

vegan food for friends–smores included!

Last weekend, some very special friends came over to have a little summer kick-off dinner on the back deck. This included furry friends, too.

Eve

Since Elinor is 100% vegan and Joanne is a total foodie with a side degree in cooking (no pressure, right?), I decided to challenge myself. Rather than rely on the easy standards like cheese and crackers and spinach artichoke dip, I went totally vegan!

getting all of the munchies ready

It was so much fun making Toad in the Hole, hummus, bean salad, cous cous, chilled berry soup, and of course the sangria. The salad with ginger carrot dressing and smores that my lovely guests brought were the icing on the cake.

vegan marshmallows and vegan chocolate

Over the next few posts, I’ll share some of the yummy vegan recipes that you can use to host your own vegan dinner. Today I’ll start with the smores that Elinor brought because they are easy and too good for words.

Simply break the graham crackers in half, place 2 marshmallows on the bottom cracker, add a piece of chocolate, and top off with the second cracker. Place the smores on a pizza pan or baking sheet and bake for about 5 minutes on 350. As soon as the chocolate is melted and the marshmallows are soft, they are done!

be sure to have a napkin ready–these little pieces of heaven are gooey

A few notes. Graham crackers are not technically vegan because they have honey, but honestly I am not anti-honey and it is really a debate whether or not this “counts.” I’d rather focus my energy on avoiding products that come from animals that are factory farmed. Did you know that marshmallows aren’t even vegetarian? I was shocked when I found this out! Marshmallows contain gelatin, which usually comes from animal bones or organs. You can read more about foods containing gelatin here.

Dude! TODAY I veganized a recipe for graham crackers. (Okay, yesterday – the dough has to chill overnight in the fridge). Instead of honey I mixed molasses with maple syrup. Instead of milk I used water, but I would have used full-fat coconut milk if I’d had any on hand. Instead of butter I used vegan shortening mixed half and half with vegetable oil.

Waaaaay better than any commercial variety I’ve tried. Nom nom nom. Got rave reviews from omnivores too. And they look freaking cute with hand-pricked dots all over them like the commercial ones!
Here is the recipe link:http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/000126.html

I can’t say I ‘feel’ much for bees; and I definitely don’t like being around honey bee boxes, as I don’t like how territorial they act. But still, I avoid honey at all times just because I think they shouldn’t be bothered. They’re not factory farmed, but they’re still confined and manipulated in a way they probably wouldn’t choose for themselves. Insects may be crushed when the honey is collected, queens are manipulated and force-bred, held in some box they call the Crown of Thorns, and now some sort of disease – sudden hive death if I remember right – is ravaging the domesticated bees. Better to let the native varieties of bees and bumblebees do the pollination work, I think, and leave honey out of the picture.

I live in the land of maple syrup, so I don’t feel deprived… 😉

I’m not trying to pick on you, as it took me a long time (years) to completely eliminate all animal by-products from my diet. And I know that making graham crackers takes longer than buying them (though it’s cheaper). Just some food for thought! 🙂

I actually really dislike honey anyway (except in graham crackers) and I’m with you — maple syrup is way better! Thanks for the link–I am DEFINITELY trying your idea out! Oh and yes — the artichokes were just steamed. They are, I think, my new fav vegetable. I used to love crab legs and I think I finally found a vegan sort of replacement. Same concept in a way if you use Earth Balance margarine and just dip the leaves in. Have you grown them before? I may have to try next year…

Hello! I’m Cara and this blog serves as my outlet to share garden adventures, veggie recipes, and general things in life that I’m passionate about like family and nature. My career is in publishing, but I have a camera with me always and dream of someday calling a veggie farm my own. Thanks for stopping by.